When The Rain Fell
by jfqzx
Summary: Momoshiro does not like the does. But that is not to say his mind cannot be changed. An x Momoshiro


Title: When the rain fell.

Fandom: Prince of Tennis

Pairing: An x Momoshiro

Genre: general, a bit of humour, and some fluff if you squint

Rating: PG

Summary: Momo does not like the rain, but that is not to say his mind cannot be changed.

Author's Notes: This fic is a long-owing one for surrealisticdes, who requested this pairing and the prompt of 'rain'.

Momoshiro does not like the rain. He does not like how it makes the green asphalt ground soggy, bringing his tennis practice to a halt. He does not like how murky puddles splish-splash onto his tennis shoes, which he had just spent the previous day cleaning, till they shone white and almost new. Momoshiro does not like how he has to stand under a measly little gazebo for shelter because he has no umbrella with him, and the rain is too heavy for him to dash two hundred meters to the bus stop. And that is not counting the walk home from the bus stop, all of which will most likely result in him catching a cold.

The rain is so heavy that Momoshiro cannot see more than a few feet away from the shelter he is in. He barely makes out a dark shape in the distance, which was advancing towards his location at a rather fast speed. It grows bigger and develops the shape of a person. And finally, it bursts into the gazebo, where it plops down onto the seat, doubled-over in exhaustion. A girl. Her hair is scraggly from being exposed to the rain and her hairclips are starting to slide from their places. It stirs an odd sense of déjà vu in Momo, and he wonders why. But when his shelter-mate has caught her breath and finally turns to acknowledge him, he does not have to think anymore.

Two pairs of eyes widen in recognition.

"Tachibana An!"

"Ah, Momoshiro!"

It has been around a year since Momo has last seen An. The last time had been during the tennis finals during his third year. But he certainly remembers her- Tachibana Kippei's younger sister; a pretty and sweet looking girl who was uncannily observant and had quite a bit of spunk in her. He also remembers how she and Fuji-senpai had made quite a pair during what has been since called 'the date escapade'. They had just sat back calmly and whispered and laughed amongst themselves throughout the whole fiasco, as if they had orchestrated the whole thing, and were enjoying the results. Both of them had rather mysterious and identical grins on their faces, which had been kind of freaky.

_Oh crap_, he realizes. _She is grinning at me now_. Or perhaps she is smiling and his recollecting is just making his brain go haywire. He coughs nervously.

"Erm, An-chan why are you staring at me like that?"

Her grin widens a fraction, and he gets nervous.

"You called me by my name!" she beams.

Now Momo is starting to think that she is going insane. _Maybe she's catching a cold_... "Eh? What else would I call you…" he starts then stops when his mind slips into the past, and he vaguely remembers that An gets annoyed at people addressing her as

"Tachibana no imouto!" (Tachibana's younger sister)

Apparently he says that out loud, because she pouts at him. "Oi!"

"Sorry!" he apologises quickly. "I didn't mean to say that."

"Nah, it's alright. I'm used to it. Although, you're lucky that you look bad enough as you are, or I might have had to punch you."

Now Momo knows that he is not terrible in terms of the looks department; he has a lean and corded body from the years of tennis training, and does not dress frumpily. Therefore, taken by surprise he immediately lashes back.

"Oi, it's not like one to say!" he retorted, perusing her current bedraggled state.

She suddenly bursts into giggles and he thinks that maybe the cold has gone to her head, when she stops laughing enough to say, "Your hair, silly!"

"What... oh."

That is another thing Momo does not like about the rain. It messes his hair up and plasters it flat to his head. And he spends a good portion of his mornings combing and styling it up so it looks neat, usually with the help of some gel.

He feels his wet hair and sighs.

She smiles. "So, what are you doing here anyway?"

"Practing tennis, well I was anyway. And you?"

"Ah, I was just cutting through the park to get to the bus stop, but then my umbrella got blown topsy-turvy!" She gestures at the dark purple umbrella resting next to her. "I think one of the metal supports broke, because it's sorta crooked now."

She continues, "So I heard that you made it into the team again, congratulations!"

"Wha... ah, thanks. How did you know? The selections were only a few days ago!"

"Hm, let's just say I have my sources." A smile hint of the mysterious grin is back on her face again, and Momo thinks that if she dons a pair of glasses, she'll be almost like a femlae verision of Inui-senpai.

A hybrid of Seigaku's data tennis player and tensai. Now that is a frightening image indeed.

That disturbing mental image soon faded from Momo's mind as they continued talking. They talked mostly about the new opponents and predictions in the upcoming match, and occassionally about what they had been doing in the past year. An was becoming interested in design and journalism after hepling out on the school yearbook commitee from the last year of junior high. Currently she is on the editorial team with the school news letter. Momo, while still pursuing his love for tennis, is not entirely sure he wants to go pro. While he is not decided on what he'll do in the future, he is keeping his options open. Not all of their friends and senpais are planning to pursue tennis after high-school. From Momo's team, Echizen, Tezuka, and perhaps Kaidoh are passionate and determined enough about it. Taka will most definitely go to culinary school so he can help his father in the restaurant. As for Fudomine, An says that her brother is likely to continue at least till university. As for the rest, she is not certain. Surprisingly enough, Kamio has expressed interest in teaching.

The rain finally shrinks into a drizzle, and they both realise that they should get moving incase it starts pouring again. They have been talking for about an hour- And you've quite enjoyed it, a little voice in Momo's mind adds. As they walk, Momo studies An a little more closely. She is certainly not as pint-sized as she was. In the past year she has grown taller and inch or two, and her top fits her more snugly. He realises where he's looking and quickly looks away. This is insane. If he allowed this to go any further, he would be on Tachibana's hit-list _…And besides, wasn't that rhythm freak- what was his name, Kamio- in love with her or something?_ But he has to admit that he has not had such a pleasant conversation with a girl before.

He is relieved when they reach the bus stop and sights her bus a minute away because once she leaves he would regain his obviously fading sanity. Speak of the devil... a certain redhead in Fudomine tennis team's signature black and white garb gets off the bus.

"An-chan! What are you doing here!" Kamio exclaims, suprised. Momo swears the other guy's cheeks have pinkened a little.

"Hi Akira! We're on a date!"

"D..date? Wha... What!!!" Kamio's blushes brightly this time, until he fully comprehens what An has just said, and finally sees Momo with her. "You're on a date with this idoit? He... he stole my bike!"

"Hey! That was long ago, and I returned!" Momo groaned at the familar tirade. "And so what if I'm on a date with An-chan, are you jealous or someth-..." It is Momo's turn to stop and blush as he realises what he has just said. "Woah, wait a minute, An-chan!" he turns to scold her.

An has a bright but unreable smile on her face. She innocently shrugs her shoulders. "Well, I better get on that bus before Nii-san comes looking for me. He gets overly paranoid if I don't get home by six. See you guys! And Momoshiro, perhaps we can have another date!" She steps into the bus.

Silence. Momo and Kamio share a look and for a moment, and Momo thinks the other boy is going to pummel him. Kamio's fists are already clenching and unclenching, and his face is pale.

But then Kamio whirls around- "Urgh! An-chan! Wait for me!"- clearly he has forgotten that he has just come out of the bus.

The last thing Momo hears is An laughing as the redhead makes it up the vehicle just in time before the doors close. He stands there in silence for a good few seconds, trying to comprehend what had just happened. Then it clicks.

He smirks, and by the time his bus comes, he is whistling when he gets in.

Perhaps the rain wasn't so bad after all.


End file.
